Carton filling apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus is disclosed for the end loading of filled cans of products into a carton by gravity. It is especially adapted for use with large diameter cans. The cans roll down an inclined track in which there are two spaced movable barriers which function to divide the progression of cans into case lots and restrain each successive lot in loading position. A carton is placed upright in a carton holder which is then tilted backward so that the open top of the carton is underneath the lower end of the trackway. With the release of the first restraining barrier, the case lot falls into the carton while the second barrier holds back the procession of cans behind it. The tilt of the carton is such that the cans will arrange themselves in layers. The holder returns the filled carton to upright position and the carton rolls from the holder onto a receiving conveyor. Upon return of the filled carton to upright position, the first barrier is raised while the second barrier is released until another case lot has rolled onto the lower terminal portion of the track, being blocked on the terminal portion by the first barrier. Foot pedals and pneumatic operators sequence the operations.

United States Patent Primary Examiner-Travis S. McGehee Muscatine, IowaAttorney-Parmelee, Utzler and Welsh [2]] Appl. No. 883,740 [22] Filed[72] Inventor JamesD.Staley ABSTRACT: An apparatus is disclosed for theend loading of products into a carton by gravity. It is especially Dec.10,1969

[45] Patented June 22,1971

filled cans of [73] Assignee 1-1.1. HeinzCompany Pittsburg, Pa.

adapted for use with large diameter cans. The cans roll down an inclinedtrack in which there are two spaced movable barriers which function todivide the progression of cans into case lots and restrain eachsuccessive lot in loading position. A carton is placed upright in acarton holder which is then tilted backward so that the open top of thecarton is underneath the [54] CARTON FILLING APPARATUS lower end of thetrackway. With the release of the first restraining barrier, the caselot falls into the carton while the second barrier holds back theprocession of cans behind it. The tilt of the carton is such that thecans will arran 10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

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ge them- B65b'35/32 selves in layers. The holder returns the filledcarton to upright Field 53/78, 147, position and the carton rolls fromthe holder onto a receiving conveyor. Upon return of the filled cartonto u the first barrier is raised while the second ba [SI]int.Cl............

pright position,

rrier is released until another case lot has rolled onto the lowerterminal portion of the track, being blocked on the terminal firstbarrier. Foot pedals and pneumatic o the operations.

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portion by the perators sequence PATENTEU 22 I97! SHEET 1 BF 2 JAMES D.STALEY 4 f r!) l his Attorneys PATENTEDJUN22|9Y1 SHEET 2 UF 2 mvflvrokJAMES 0. STA/.5)

8y M W (ll/M his Attorneys down CARTON FILLING APPARATUS FIELD OF THEINVENTION This invention relates to an apparatus for filling a cartonwith cans, where a group of cans from a labeling machine or otherprocessing devices are fed by gravity into an open-end canon and thecarton then moved to a subsequent station for final processing andshipping to consumers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is of course well known that products ofvarious kinds are filled into cans of diverse standard sizes and thecans are then packed in cartons in case lots. The number of cans in acase varies according to the size of the cans. Effective carton loadingmachines of various kinds have been developed for the smaller sizes ofcans, but large cans, such as the 010 can commonly used for the hoteland restaurant trade, are quite heavy and equipment used for smallercans is not well adapted to the packing of these larger sizes. Sincethese cans, filled with product may be quite heavy, a case lot commonlycomprises only six cans. These are placed in rectangular cartons in tworows of three each, usually through an open end of the carton ratherthan through what would normally be considered the top of a carton usedfor smaller sizes of cans.

The manual packing of these large and usually heavy cans by end loadingthe carton is laborious and slow. The present invention has for itsprincipal object to provide a simple mechanism which is semiautomaticfor separating from a continuous progression of cans or othercylindrical objects, a case lot and charging the case lot into the openend of a carton with the cans properly arranged in the customary manner.While the invention is not necessarily restricted to packing large canssuch as the 010 cans, it presently has its principal utility for theseand like large or relatively heavy cylindrical objects, because, asabove indicated, apparatus is available for packing smaller cans wherecase lots are generally of the order of 12 and 24 units.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides anapparatus for the gravity filling of a carton with cans. An inclinedtrackway has an upper end portion onto which cans to be packed areplaced and down which the cans roll by gravity to a lower discharge end.Barrier means are provided to restrain the cans from premature dischargeand to group the cans so that only a predeterminednumber or case lot ofcans will be discharged from the trackway in a single carton fillingcycle. There is a carton holder on the machine having rollers in thebottom thereof into which an up-ended carton is placed with the top endopen, and it is pivoted so that it may rock between an upright positionconvenient for the placing of a carton therein and the removal of afilled carton therefrom, and a tilted canreceiving position where theupper end of a carton in the holder is located under the discharge endof the trackway. The carton holder. and barrier means are pneumaticallyoperated while a cam locking device is used to hold the carton holder infilling position. The filled cartons are removed preferably onto anadjacent conveyor so the full carton can be transported to a subsequentprocessing station.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view ofthe carton filling apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a view from the front of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. Iwith the canon holder in vertical position and the removal conveyor notshown;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along the lines III-Ill of FIG. I; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a pneumatic system usable with theapparatus of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the drawings, an apparatus forgravity filling of a carton C with cans is illustrated as l andcomprises an inclined trackway 2 with arrestor means or spaced barriers3 and 4 movable into and out of can obstructing position on thetrackway. The machine has a pivotable carton holder 5 positioned at alower level than the trackway and there is a carton receiving conveyortable 6 onto which loaded cartons are discharged for removal of a loadedcarton from the area of the apparatus. The inclined trackway whichcomprises two angle irons 7 and 8 spaced apart a distance just slightlygreater than the axial length of the cans c, guides the cans as theyroll on their sides from a source of supply at the upper portion of thetrackway toward the discharge end, the discharge end being fixed in asupporting structure 9. Containers, usually sealed cans from a labelingmachine or, in the case of lithographed cans, from a filling machine,are delivered in continuous succession to the trackway by conventionalmeans such as a conveyor (not shown) and so positioned on their sidesthat they will freely roll by gravityfrom the receiving end of thetrackway to the discharge end. Although the present apparatus can beconstructed for the loading of cartons with various quantities or sizesof cans, it is especially useful as heretofore explained where a smallernumber of cans of relatively large size comprise a case lot and theapparatus is herein shown and described for use where six cans of a 010size are to be loaded into a carton which will receive two rows of threecans each. I

The upper barrier means 3 comprises a cylinder 10 having a piston rod 11and a blocking member 12 at the outer end of the rod which is movedvertically into and out of blocking position across the trackway 2 bythe cylinder 10. The lower barrier means 4 also comprises a cylinder 13,piston rod 14, and blocking member 15 at the outer end of the rod whichis likewise moved vertically into and out of blocking position acrossthe trackway by its cylinder. The barrier means 3 and 4 are positionedadjacent the trackway and spaced apart a distance d, that corresponds tothat required for reception therebetween of a single case lot, in thisinstance, six cans. If desired, the discharge end of the trackway 2designated as 16 can be pivotally attached to the frame 9 by pivot means17 to enable adjustment of the slope of the discharge end thereof toregulate the rate of discharge of cans from the trackway into the openend of a tilted carton in the holder, about to be described.

Adjacent the discharge end of the trackway 2 and positioned at a lowerlevel thereto there is a carton holder 5 which has an open top 18 and atleast one open side 19. The carton holder preferably has free turningrollers 20 at the bottom which are carried by shafts 21 extendingthrough the sidewalls of the carton holder and provide for the easyrolling of a loaded carton from the holder out of open side 19. Thecarton holder is attached to a shaft 22 which is supported by bearings23 in supports 24 to provide for pivotal movement of the carton holderfrom a normally substantially vertical position for loading or unloadinga carton therefrom to an inclined position where the open top thereof isaligned with the discharge end of trackway 2 for feeding of cans to acarton carried therein. The other end of the carton holder 5 is attachedby pivot connection 25 to a piston rod 26 which is controllably vreciprocated, at least to tilt the holder from its normal position byfluid pressure cylinder 27. The shaft 22, as shown in the drawings ispreferably offset to the side of the holder nearest the main uprightstructure 9 whereby the weight of the carton after it has been loaded,exerts a force tending to return the holder to or slightly beyond anupright position.

A framework 28 is provided with resilient shock absorbers 29 thereon tocushion the carton holder as it returns to vertical position, while anarm 30 is provided on the frame 9 to limit the movement of the cartonholder 5 to the desired maximum inclined position and align the open top18 thereof with the discharge end of the trackway.

The barriers 3 and 4 are supplied with fluid under pressure through amanifold or distributor block 31 which is connected to a source ofpressurized air and which operates in conjunction with two bleedervalves 32 and 33. Bleeder valve 32 is positioned on the framework 28 andactivated by the carton holder 5. When the carton holder 5 is invertical position, the plunger 34 of bleeder valve 32 is depressed andfluid pressure applied to the top of cylinder so as to retract pistonrod 11 and thereby move blocking member 12 downwardly out ofcan-blocking position. When the carton holder 5 is tilted, it is raisedfrom contact with plunger 34 of valve 32 to release the operatingplunger of said valve and air is directed into the bottom of cylinder 10to raise the blocking member into position for restraining cans. Bleedervalve 33 operates the cylinder 13 and its rod 14. It is positioned onthe arm 30 so that when the carton holder reaches its maximum inclinedposition it will depress its valve plunger 35 and cause fluid pressureto be applied to the top of the cylinder 13 thereby lowering rod 14 andits blocking member 15 out of blocking position to allow cans to rollfrom the lower end of the trackway into the open end of a carton held ina tilted can receiving position in the carton holder. When the cartonholder is again lowered to vertical position, it moves from contact withplunger 35 and the plunger will be extended, to reverse the operation ofthe barrier, raising the rod 14 and its blocking member 15 into canrestraining position for the next group of cans. Thus, the operation ofthe barrier means 3 and 4 is synchronized with the operation of thecarton holder 5. When the carton holder is in substantially verticalposition, the barrier means 3 operates to release another group or caselot of cans for movement down the trackway toward the discharge endwhere their movement is blocked by barrier means 4. When the cartonholder next moves to the inclined or tilted position, the barrier means3 blocks movement of more than the desired number of cans to thedischarge portion of the trackway, and upon reaching its maximuminclined position, the carton holder triggers arresting means 4 as aboveexplained to release the next lot of cans.

The carton holder is tiltable from a substantially vertical positionwhere empty open-end cartons are placed in the holder and where filledcartons are removed from the holder to an inclined position for thereceipt of cans. The degree of inclination will vary depending upon thesize of cans being packed and is that needed for the cans to arrangethemselves into layers. If the carton holder were in a position that istoo close to vertical, i.e., 90 to the horizontal, the cans will tend tonest themselves within the carton and result in incomplete filling ofthe carton. If the carton holder is positioned at an angle to close tothe horizontal, the cans would tend to roll from the open top of thecarton and also result in incomplete filling. Thus, the angle of thecarton holder to the horizontal must be steeper than the angle of reposeof the cans but less than 90 and can be readily determined for each sizeof cans. Generally, the angle will approximate an angle within a rangeof about 6575 from the horizontal. For example, in loading 010 cans, anangle of about 70 to the horizontal for the carton holder during receiptof cans from the trackway has been found to give quick and completefilling of an open-ended carton carried by the holder.

The carton holder 5 is pivoted on shaft 22 by means of the movement ofrod 26 by piston 27a in cylinder 27. A manifold cylinder 36, alsoconnected to a source of pressurized air, is connected to a valve 37having a plunger 38. When the plunger 38 is depressed, air and pressureare applied to the bottom of cylinder 27 to force the rod 26 upwards andraise the end of carton holder 5 pivoting the holder on shaft 22. Whilenumerous means may be used to actuate the valve 37, a preferred means isillustrated in the drawings wherein the operator's hands are free tomanipulate a carton with the operator's foot being used to actuate thevalve 37 through a foot pedal arrangement. A foot pedal 39 is pivotallyattached at 40 to a support 41, and by stepping on the pedal, theoperator actuates valve 38 to apply pressure to the bottom of cylinder27 to raise the carton holder and tilt a carton therein to can receivingposition as above described.

In order to lock the carton holder in inclined position, a cam member 42is provided on one end of the shaft 22, the cam member having a notch 43in its periphery. When the carton holder tilts to the inclined position,the cam also rotates and at maximum inclined position a dog or latch 44is urged into the notch by a spring and rod arrangement operated to thenrestrain the holder against movement. A foot pedal 45 is pivotallymounted at 46 (FIG. 2) on a support 47, an end of the pedal beingpivotally attached at 48 to a lever 49 pivoting on a fulcrum 50. Theother end of the lever 49 is pivotally attached at 51 to a rod 52, therod 52 passing freely through a guide and support plate 53 attached topart of frame 28, the upper end of the rod 52 being attached to the dog44. A compression spring 54 is positioned around the rod intermediatethe dog 44 and the plate 53 to urge the dog and rod upwardly, which inturn lifts the foot pedal 45 into upward position. The dog 44 normallyrides along the periphery of the cam member 42 but when the cartonholder reaches maximum inclined position the spring 54 urges the dog 44into the notch 43 of cam member 42 and locks the carton holder in thisposition.

The rod 52 also has a sleeve 55 attached thereto, the sleeve having anoutwardly extending arm 56 which is arranged to depress a plunger 57 ofvalve 58. Valve 58 controls the bleeding of air from the bottom ofcylinder 27 to permit lowering of the piston rod 26 and the. cartonholder 5. Thus, when the operator steps on foot pedal 45, the rod 52 isforced downwardly, releasing the dog 44 from cam member 42 and at thesame time, actuating bleeder valve 58 to bleed air from the bottom ofcylinder 27. Upon release of the cam member 42 and bleeding of air fromthe bottom of cylinder 27, the weight of the carton holder 5 and loadedcarton, being off center, will cause the carton holder to return bygravity to a vertical position or slightly beyond vertical position. Theoperator then pulls the carton manually from the carton holder, thecarton rolling easily therefrom on rollers 20, or upon the correctpositioning, the weight of the cans and the movement of the holder tovertical position or slight downward position can cause the full cartonto roll by gravity onto the adjacent conveyor 6.

The conveyor 6, of conventional design has a continuous belt 59 which isdriven by a motor 60 through a drive belt system 61 to transport thefull carton to the next station for processing.

While the pneumatic circuits described are generally conventional andcomprise the use of valves, bleeders, manifolds and cylinders common tothe industry, FIG. 4 discloses a simple schematic diagram of a pneumaticsystem usable for control of the apparatus. Pressurized air, or otherfluid under pressure is supplied by a compressor or other source (notshown) to a supply line 62 and into a line 63 that has two branches. Onebranch is connected to manifold 31 through which air is supplied foroperating barrier means 3 and 4. As heretofore described, the cartonholder 5 acts as a trigger to alternately cause the cylinders to lowerthe blocking members 12 and 15 from restraining position to anonobstructing or clear position to allow cans to roll on the trackway.in one position, vertical position as described in FIGS. l3, the cartonholder will activate valve 32 to supply air to the top of cylinder 10and lower the stop member 12, while in the alternate position, i.e.,inclined position, the carton holder will activate valve 33 to supplyair to the top of cylinder 13 and thus lower stop member 15. The secondmanifold 36 to which the other branch of feedline 63 suppliespressurized air, operates the carton holder cylinder 27. When foot pedal39 is depressed by the operator to open valve 37, air blows to the lowerend of cylinder 27 to raise the carton holder to inclined position. Whenthe carton holder is to be lowered, the foot pedal 45 is depressed tolower rod 52 and, in addition to releasing the mechanical cam lock,activates bleeder valve 58 to bleed air from the bottom of cylinder 27so that the carton holder is returned to vertical position by gravity.

In operation, an open ended carton is placed in the carton holder by theattendant with the open end up and the flaps opened out, the holderbeing in a substantially vertical position. The operator depresses thefoot pedal 39 which actuates valve 37 and supplies air to the bottom ofcylinder 27. This allows air to pass through the cylinder block 36 tothe carton holder cylinder 27 tilting the carton holder to an inclinedposition. As the carton holder 5 moves off of bleeder valve 32, theupper stop cylinder is activated so as to raise the restraining bar 12to hold back the supply of cans on the inclined trackway over and abovethe number of cans desired in the group that is to be immediately loadedinto the carton. When the carton holder reaches its maximum inclinedposition, it depresses the bleeder valve 33 so as to activate the lowerstop cylinder 13 and drop the blocking member 15 and allow the group ofcans to roll by gravity into the carton through its open top. Also, whenthe carton holder reaches its maximum inclined position, the cam 42 willhave been rotated to a point where the notch 43 engages the dog 44attached to the rod 52.

After the predetermined number of cans on the trackway that were betweenthe two barriers have dropped into the openended carton, dog 44 islowered by the operator depressing foot plate 45, which lowers rod 52and the attached dog 44, to release the latch. As rod 52 is lowered, arm56 carried thereon actuates valve 58 so as to bleed air from the bottomof cylinder 27. The full carton holder, now carrying its load, returnsto a vertical position, breaking contact with bleeder valve 33, therebycausing the blocking member 15 to raise into blocking position. When thecarton holder is restored to vertical position, bleeder valve 32 isactivated and air is supplied to cylinder 10 to lower restraining bar 12and another group of cans roll down for discharge, but discharge isblocked until the foot pedal 39 is again depressed. The space betweenthe two barrier means is only great enough to permit a case lot, i.e.,six cans in the example here described to roll into said space, so thatwith each cycle of operation a new case lot is separated from theoncoming procession of cans ready for discharge when a carton is nextbrought into can receiving position.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention provides a simple,inexpensive, easily operated apparatus for rapidly packing cylindricalcans in even layers into cartons. The operator has only to place theempty cartons into the carton holder with the end flaps at the top endopened out and then operate the foot pedals. The cans are automaticallyseparated into case lots, and the holder, being supported on anoffcenter pivot at 22, returns the carton after it is filled to asubstantially upright position, or preferably just beyond a verticalposition where the carton easily rolls out of the holder onto theendless belt receiving table structure 6 so that no heavy lifting isrequired by the machine operator. The operation is semiautomatic, buthas few parts subject to wear. The maximum distance which the cans fallis such that they are not damaged by the impact of one upon another,particularly since the cans fall sideways in a manner such that theshock of any impact is distributed along the length of the contactingcan surfaces.

lclaim:

1. An apparatus for loading a carton with a predetermined number offilled cans or like cylindrical objects comprising:

a. a supporting structure,

b. a tiltable carton holder into which a carton with an open end may bereceived, said canon holder being tiltably supported in the supportingstructure for tilting movement between a generally upright position inwhich cartons may be placed in the holder and removed therefrom and atilted loading position in which the holder and a carton receivedtherein are inclined from the horizontal,

c. an inclined track in which the cans are guided and down which theyroll having its lower end terminating just above and over a carton insaid holder when the holder is in tilted loading position, and

d. means arranged to release a predetermined number of cans on the trackto roll down the track and off its lower end into the carton, theinclination of the carton being such that the cans arrange themselves inthe carton in vertical rows containing equal numbers of cans.

2. An apparatus for loading a carton with a predetermined number offilled cans or like cylindrical objects as defined in claim ll whereinsaid means comprises spaced barriers along the track movable into andout of can blocking position, the spacing between the barriers beingsufficient to accommodate said predetermined number of cans betweenthem.

3. An apparatus for loading a carton with a predetermined number offilled cans or like cylindrical objects as defined in claim 2 whereinsaid spaced barriers comprise a pair of pneu matically operated blockingmembers each of said pair arranged to operate in opposed blocking andnonblocking position for cans on the track.

4. An apparatus for loading a carton with a predetermined number offilled cans or like cylindrical objects as defined in claim ll whereinsaid tiltable carton holder is pivotally mounted on the supportstructure for said tilting movement.

5. An apparatus for loading a carton with a predetermined number offilled cans or like cylindrical objects as defined in claim 4 includinglocking means to hold the carton holder in tilted loading position andwherein the carton holder is pivotally mounted so as to lower by gravityto substantially vertical position upon release of said locking means.

6. An apparatus for loading a carton with a predetermined number offilled cans or like cylindrical objects as defined in claim 1 whereinsaid carton holder has free turning rollers in the bottom thereofarranged to permit rolling of a full carton therefrom.

7. An apparatus for loading a carton with a predetermined number offilled cans or like cylindrical objects as defined in claim 1 whereinsaid tiltable carton holder and a carton received therein when in tiltedloading position are inclined at an angle of approximately 70 from thehorizontal' 8. An apparatus for gravity filling of a carton with canscomprising:

a. an inclined trackway down which cans roll by gravity having an upperend for receiving cans to be packed and a lower can discharge end,

b. barrier means along the trackway movable into and out of canrestraining position,

c. a carton holder having an open top and at least one open sidepositioned at a lower level than and adjacent to the lower end of thetrackway, the carton holder being pivotally mounted for movement from asubstantially vertical position for the loading and unloading ofsuccessive cartons to an inclined position with the open top thereofunder the discharge end of the trackway,

d. means for effecting pivotal movement of the carton holder and,

e. means arranged to sequentially move the barrier means from a canrestraining position when the carton holder is in vertical position to anonrestraining position for the discharge of a predetermined number ofcans by gravity into a carton in the carton holder when the cartonholder is in said inclined position.

9. An apparatus for gravity filling of a carton with cans as defined inclaim 8 wherein said barrier means comprises first and second blockingmembers spaced from each other a distance sufficient to accommodate saidpredetermined number of cans therebetween with the first and secondblocking members operating in opposed blocking and nonblocking positionwith respect to cans on the trackway.

10. An apparatus for gravity filling of a carton with cans as describedin claim Q wherein the carton holder when in substantially verticalposition activates means for moving said first blocking member fromblocking position, and when in inclined position activates means formoving said second blocking member from blocking position with respectto cans on said trackway.

1. An apparatus for loading a carton with a predetermined number offilled cans or like cylindrical objects comprising: a. a supportingstructure, b. a tiltable carton holder into which a carton with an openend may be received, said carton holder being tiltably supported in thesupporting structure for tilting movement between a generally uprightposition in which cartons may be placed in the holder and removedtherefrom and a tilted loading position in which the holder and a cartonreceived therein are inclined from the horizontal, c. an inclined trackin which the cans are guided and down which they roll having its lowerend terminating just above and over a carton in said holder when theholder is in tilted loading position, and d. means arranged to release apredetermined number of cans on the track to roll down the track and offits lower end into the carton, the inclination of the carton being suchthat the cans arrange themselves in the carton in vertical rowscontaining equal numbers of cans.
 2. An apparatus for loading a cartonwith a predetermined number of filled cans or like cylindrical objectsas defined in claim 1 wherein said means comprises spaced barriers alongthe track movable into and out of can blocking position, the spacingbetween the barriers being sufficient to accommodate said predeterminednumber of cans between them.
 3. An apparatus for loading a carton with apredetermined number of filled cans or like cylindrical objects asdefined in claim 2 wherein said spaced barriers comprise a pair ofpneumatically operated blocking members each of said pair arranged tooperate in opposed blocking and nonblocking position for cans on thetrack.
 4. An apparatus for loading a carton with a predetermined numberof filled cans or like cylindrical objects as defined in claim 1 whereinsaid tiltable carton holder is pivotally mounted on the supportstructure for said tilting movement.
 5. An apparatus for loading acarton with a predetermined number of filled cans or like cylindricalobjects as defined in claim 4 including locking means to hold the cartonholder in tilted loading position and wherein the carton holder ispivotally mounted so as to lower by gravity to substantially verticalposition upon release of said locking means.
 6. An apparatus for loadinga carton with a predetermined nUmber of filled cans or like cylindricalobjects as defined in claim 1 wherein said carton holder has freeturning rollers in the bottom thereof arranged to permit rolling of afull carton therefrom.
 7. An apparatus for loading a carton with apredetermined number of filled cans or like cylindrical objects asdefined in claim 1 wherein said tiltable carton holder and a cartonreceived therein when in tilted loading position are inclined at anangle of approximately 70* from the horizontal.
 8. An apparatus forgravity filling of a carton with cans comprising: a. an inclinedtrackway down which cans roll by gravity having an upper end forreceiving cans to be packed and a lower can discharge end, b. barriermeans along the trackway movable into and out of can restrainingposition, c. a carton holder having an open top and at least one openside positioned at a lower level than and adjacent to the lower end ofthe trackway, the carton holder being pivotally mounted for movementfrom a substantially vertical position for the loading and unloading ofsuccessive cartons to an inclined position with the open top thereofunder the discharge end of the trackway, d. means for effecting pivotalmovement of the carton holder and, e. means arranged to sequentiallymove the barrier means from a can restraining position when the cartonholder is in vertical position to a nonrestraining position for thedischarge of a predetermined number of cans by gravity into a carton inthe carton holder when the carton holder is in said inclined position.9. An apparatus for gravity filling of a carton with cans as defined inclaim 8 wherein said barrier means comprises first and second blockingmembers spaced from each other a distance sufficient to accommodate saidpredetermined number of cans therebetween with the first and secondblocking members operating in opposed blocking and nonblocking positionwith respect to cans on the trackway.
 10. An apparatus for gravityfilling of a carton with cans as described in claim 9 wherein the cartonholder when in substantially vertical position activates means formoving said first blocking member from blocking position, and when ininclined position activates means for moving said second blocking memberfrom blocking position with respect to cans on said trackway.